Messenger - Vol. 1, No. 2, Page 28
Winter 1992
Betty Paulanka named nursing dean
     Betty J. Paulanka, chairperson of the Department of Nursing
Science at the University of Delaware since 1987, has been named dean
of the University's College of Nursing, effective Jan. 16.
     Paulanka succeeds Edith H. Anderson, who has retired after more
than 14 years as dean.
     Long interested in the use of technology in nursing education,
Paulanka implemented the University's innovative FOCUS program, a
statewide and regional program that allows nurses to use videotaped
classes to complete nursing courses at their places of work.
     She is the third dean in the college's 25-year history.
     After earning a diploma in nursing from the Hospital of the
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Paulanka received her
bachelor of science degree in nursing from Neumann College in 1976 and
her master's degree in psychiatric nursing the following year from the
University of Pennsylvania. She completed a doctoral degree in adult
education in 1984 at Temple University.
     Before joining the University as an instructor in 1977, Paulanka
was a staff nurse at both the Wilmington Medical Center and
Crozer-Chester Medical Center, and she was a psychiatric nurse at the
University of Pennsylvania's Family Maintenance Organization and the
West Philadelphia Mental Health Consortium.
     Promoted to assistant professor in 1981 and associate professor
in 1987, Paulanka has served on several University committees,
including the Committee on Undergraduate Studies, the Academic Appeals
Committee and the Project Vision Task Force on Medical Education, as
well as on several college and department committees.
     In addition to computer-assisted instruction, her research
interests include the health needs of homeless, childbearing women and
nursing interventions for the memory-impaired.
     The author of several articles in professional journals, Paulanka
has presented numerous papers and workshops on such topics as stress
management and computers in nursing instruction. Currently, she is
working on a book entitled "Fluids and Electrolytes: Clinical
Implications."
     Chairperson of the Division of Nursing Education, Delaware Nurses
Association, Paulanka is also a member of the American Nurses
Association, the National League for Nursing, the Pennsylvania League
for Nursing, Nursing Education's Link to the Aged Advisory Board and
the Delaware Valley Nursing Computer Network Advisory Board.
     She is a member of the Omicron Tau Delta, Sigma Xi and Sigma
Theta Tau honor societies.
     The College of Nursing has 33 faculty members and an enrollment
of approximately 400 undergraduates and 80 graduate students. The
college offers both a bachelor and a master of science in nursing, as
well as specialized courses that allow registered nurses to work
toward their baccalaureate degrees, a bridge program between
bachelor's and master's degrees and the FOCUS program.
     Former dean Anderson came to Delaware in 1976 after serving as
dean at the School of Nursing at the University of Hawaii. While at
the University, she was actively involved in the college's current
efforts to raise $1 million for a scholarship endowment.